Jigar Moradabadi was born in 1890 in Moradabad. His name was Ali Sikandar and he used the pseudonym, ‘Jigar’. His father, Ali ‘Nazar’ was a disciple of Khwaja Wazeer Lakhnavi. A collection of his poetry has also been published. After studying basic Persian, Jigar studied English till his matriculate term. As his first job, Jigar worked as a salesman for a local spectacles dealer. Later on, he pursued poetry and sent his early sher-o-shayari to Dagh Dehlvi, who corrected them and sent them back. People appreciated and admired his recitation skills. He travelled all over the country attending mushairas. Jigar was addicted to alcohol all through his life and everyone knew about his forgetfulness and absent-mindedness. Jigar is recognized among the greatest ghazal writers of the 20th century and it is said that the era of classical Urdu poetry ended with Jigar. Jigar's impact on his contemporaries and the later generation has been immense, especially on his disciples like Majrooh Sultanpuri, a famous lyricist of the Indian film industry. Poets like Jazbi, Jaan Nisar Akhtar and Majaaz were also influenced by Jigar. His important publications are Dagh-e-Jigar, Shola-e-Tuur (1937), Aatish-e-Gul (1959), Diwan-e-Jigar. A collection of his letters was published posthumously. Jigar won the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for Aatish-e-Gul, his collection of poetry. He died in 1961 in Lucknow.